BACE Blog

CES Day :: 2 – Mobile Tech, Smartphones, Apps and GPS

January 18, 2010 by Mel Lim | business, conferences | 0 Comments

Being Techie, Smart and Everywhere
Like any other trade show, there are great designs/inventions and there is some mediocre crap. The challenge is to weave through all the junk and discover the cool stuff.

One may think that since the consumer electronics industry is so popular and Americans are embracing gadgets, that you could easily find good design. With so many products out there it is sad to say good design is not as common as it should be, with 90% of the products destined for the landfill, many manufacturers make things good enough for today. After all, there needs to be a reason to make you feel that insecure need for the newer, newest igadget 6 months later.

As a sustainable designer as well as thrifty consumer, it’s always hard to justify any type of purchase. At this show, the biggest question I asked myself was, “What is going to by categorized as a luxury purchase and what is going to be a necessity?”

This year at CES, there was a huge emphasis on mobile technology, smartphones, gps tech, e-readers and of course 3D TV.

Mobile Tech, Smartphones & Apps:
I think mobile is a complex issue as each of us have different needs. A smartphone to me is a necessity but I don’t need all the frills. I want to check my emails, have internet access, check my stocks and tweet. Which then trickles down, to the content of my iPhone. My top 6 apps include: Tweetdeck, Linkedin, HopStop, Facebook, Think Ink and OXMobile. Now, with apps being so affordable, I have no qualms coughing out a couple dollars to make my life easier. As I slowly realize new needs, I can add those specific Apps that work for me. This is after all the truly smart thing Apple has done with the iPhone, making it scalabel and easy to interface with.

Right now smartphone operating systems are battling for their percentage of the market. The CES conference panelists each had different takes on the direction the industry is going. Pankaj Kedia of Global Ecosystem Programs kept drilling home to us that as we move toward smarter and smarter phones, these devices essentially become pocket computers, PC’s. According to Kedia, this will inevitably lead to one dominant mobile OS. But since his current business plan plugs into Intel, (also being a former Intel employee), I couldn’t get passed his optimism and potential bias views. I believe having competing standards for smart phone’s operating systems will boost technology and innovation. Even Mark VandenBrink, VP of Samsung said “We are just giving consumers what they want.” He also went on to say, as most of the panelists agreed with this retail bottom-line, consumers will be the ones determining the market.

Other mobile tech topics include how all chips are set differently, causing compatibility problems, and the ease of App development. Looks like the big guys like Apple and Intel are the ones spearheading the creation of hardware and software platforms. Supposedly half of the smart phone market ownerships are due to the ease of Apps development, the other half is the acceptance of the products by consumers.

For example, in the European market, 66% of the smartphone OS is Symbian, 12% Apple (and growing), 10% Windows Mobile, and 10% RIM. Apple’s iPhone has gained the 12% market hold against Symbian’s long-existing market share due to its ease of developing apps for programmers combined with a device that consumers have embraced. Windows Mobile is trailing and others like Palm and Nokia are coming up with their own “App” store solutions. However no one has yet surpassed 100,000 Apps like Apple. Consumers get what they want and developers get to create and launch their App easily/quickly.

As to the immediate battles between the hardware of Google Nexus, Android, Palm, Blackberry, and Iphone…no comments. I am sticking to my iPhone for now.

GPS:
I attended the CES Knowledge track called GPS Navigation: What’s Down the Road where many of the current pillars of GPS leaders seemed to be outright in denial. Roger Jollis from Garmin and Jocelyn Vigreux of TomTom Inc. seemed very adamant in an immediate public dismissal of what many of us see as the inevitable smart phone invasion of the GPS industry. These makers of PND’s (Personal Navigation Device’s) should be afraid of the all inclusive smartphones with built-in GPS device. But they are not…

Roger Jollis had one main point. He asked the audience if we owned smart phones with cameras in them. 95% of the room raised their hands. Then he asked if those same people also brought along a stand alone camera for REAL photo taking. 90% of the room raised their hands again. Good point…I understand what he’s getting at. But to add to that, cameras are more of a staple in our society than GPS devices!! Can you imagine us bringing an additional GPS device when we go on trips? Or to a conference? The answer is quite obvious.

As a consumer I want the all-inclusive device that does what I want. I really reject the idea of a heavy Batman utility belt that I have to lug everywhere. It’s the same reason my kitchen has 3 appliances. Do I really want a stand alone device that is made to cook only hotdogs and another one to open canned peaches?

The GPS leaders do have a 5 year outlook, and some plan to fight the onslaught of smart phone intrusion. GPS Apps are appearing for the iPhone such as G-Map at $39.99 with its bright and readable interface, and iGO My Way offers their solution at $79.99 with a video game looking 3D building map and 3D vehicle showing your position. Perhaps another direction these companies can take are what TomTom has done with its self titled iPhone App ($99.99) that is not only visually and functionally simple, but intuitive just like their portable GPS units. This could be the compromise and niche that ends up saving the GPS device manufacturers if they choose to embrace it. Or they can just stay in denial.

The other niche they agreed upon was automobile GPS systems. With many upscale cars on the market being sold with built-in navigation, GPS companies will be pushing for installation in lower cost cars as well. This is the reason for the success of OnStar and the Sync found in Ford cars.

GPS did have an interesting start via military contract. The history as they showed us started when the US Government seeked to build GPS devices that can accomplish 3 objectives.
#1. It must be no bigger than a backpack, for example to remain mobile on a soldiers back.
#2. The GPS unit must be made for under $20,000 per unit, to keep costs reasonable (because when it comes from our taxes…$20,000 is reasonable for a GPS unit…i guess).
#3. The GPS must be accurate enough to drop 5 bombs in the same hole.
These are the 3 top things that birthed the now tiny/abundant consumer chips found in GPS units today!

GPS + Mobile + Necessity

Lok8u LLC is a company that has truly captured the 3 essence of GPS & GSM technology, mobile and fulfilling market demands. Lok8u launched Nu•M8, a GPS locator device specifically designed to be worn by children with the innovative technology concealed within the child’s digital watch. Nu•M8 is securely fastened to a child’s wrist and it stays there unless deactivated by a parent. Which means the child cannot remove it, or if it’s forcibly removed, an alert is sent to your mobile phone or computer and you can track your child’s exact current location.

There is also the new multi•m8, a new GPS-enabled locator watch for adults and seniors or for extreme athletes. Multi•m8, just like nu•m8, also uses a combination of patented cellular identification technology and GPS to pinpoint the location of a wearer accurately within 10 feet. Multi•m8 includes a messaging compatible LCD screen, panic button to summon immediate help and a voice recorder.